Pre-clinical considerations in the assessment of immunogenicity for protein therapeutics

Protein therapeutics offer distinct advantages over other classes of drugs largely due to the high level of target specificity and generally low toxicity. Problems have, however, been encountered with some protein therapeutics inducing undesirable immune responses in patients. This immunogenicity can produce pleiotropic effects including the development of a high affinity B cell-mediated humoral response that is often directed against the therapeutic. Opinions are divided as to the principal causes of clinical immunogenicity and, as a result, this area has been the subject of much research. One thing that has emerged as a result of this intense activity is the development of pre-clinical models that can provide a level of prediction of the immunogenic potential of novel protein therapeutics before administration in man.